30 KakaSaku Oneshots
by xLady-Helenax
Summary: 30 word-prompt one-shots about Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura. Last time: Warmth. This time: Why?. "Sakura, why are you just in your underwear?" She giggled, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
1. Hot Chocolate

**Title:** Cold nights are the best  
**Rating:** T  
**Prompt:** Hot Chocolate

**Authors Note: **The word prompts here are NOT related to those of livejournal. My good friend and beta **D0nQuix0te** and I, while talking on Facebook, decided that she needed to have word prompts to write one-shots about. And so I gave her 30 of them. Alas, because I too wanted to write, I requested 30 words from her in return! How nice!

_On a side note_ – she put 'hot chocolate' as prompt to spite me. She knows I want it. This story is inspired by the hour long walk I ended up taking today.

**And to clarify any questions:** Unless otherwise stated, Sakura is over 18. And clearly, much of what's to come is Alternate Universe (AU).

Disclaimer (because I'm only doing it once):Naruto and all affiliated property belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I'm merely a fan writing about it :)

* * *

It was at least 7 o'clock by the time Sakura made it back to her apartment. She had to walk home from the hospital, and she disliked every second of it. The ground was covered in ice, so she'd had make small baby steps the entire way back. It was dark, which made it even colder, and the wind didn't help when she didn't have a scarf or hat to protect her. 

After a minute or so fiddling with the lock to her apartment, Sakura got inside. She relished in the fact that she was out of the harsh winter air and in her apartment.

It was then she noticed the note that was lying on the floor against the wall across from the door. She recognized the stationary. It was the one her landlord used when she left them messages - message that were never, _ever_ good.

She bent over to pick up the offending piece of paper, scared to read what was written on it.

_Sakura-chan_

_Our trusty furnace broke down today after years of faithful service. I'm sorry, but for today, or longer, there won't be any heat. Hopefully you can find someplace to stay while the repairs are being made!_

_Sincerely, Mikuji._

She crumpled the letter in her hands.

Sakura sighed.

She needed something to drink - something that wasn't tea. She'd had her fill with tea, lately. Tsunade had been bet by Jiraiya that she couldn't avoid alcohol for two weeks. It had been three days, and things were looking good. Unfortunately, Sakura had had to consume copious amounts of tea in the meantime. If Tsunade had to suffer, everyone had to suffer along with her.

She rummaged through her cupboards, pushing back her own little stash of tea, in favour of a small tin container labelled "Instant Hot Chocolate Mix". She could see her breath as she poured the required amount of water into the kettle and plugging it in.

While it boiled, she went to her room to change. Her uniform for the hospital was convenient, but never warm. She threw on a pair of her warmest pants, one of Kakashi's long sleeved shirts, and one of Naruto's thickest sweaters. She had no idea how she'd amassed their clothing over the years. She had taken on the role of "tempered mother" to Naruto, periodically going to his apartment to make him clean, and to take his laundry so it would be washed. If it weren't for her, she knew that he would never own a pair of clean clothes again.

And when Kakashi's clothes started appearing in her laundry basket, she'd never questioned it.

When she heard the kettles boiling screech, she left and walked back towards her kitchen. When the noise simmered down on its own, however, she walked a little faster.

Kakashi stood in her kitchen. In her hands was the kettle, and two mugs were out in front of him – white, one with the Konoha leaf symbol, the other with a cherry blossom petal. She'd gotten four of them specifically for their team.

"Kakashi, what on earth are you doing here?" she asked. He turned to her, mugs in hand, smiling.

"I should ask you the same question. It's freezing in here." He handed Sakura her drink. Her cold fingers felt burned against the hot mug. She turned to go to her living room. Kakashi followed.

"The furnace is broken," she explained as she sat down. She curled her legs against her body, like she always had, her back pressed against the high arm of the couch. Kakashi sat close to her, his ankle resting on his knee.

"So I read. It's really quite unfortunate." Kakashi leaned over and put his drink on the short table in front of them.

"I'll say. I hate this cold! Winter is so awful. You can't do anything in this weather! It's freezing!" She took a sip from her drink, closing her eyes to savour the warmth.

When she felt his hands wrap around hers, she snapped her eyes open. Kakashi was leaning over her – slowing moving so his legs were around her hips – and staring at her with a strange gaze. She hadn't even noticed that he had been moving her curled up legs into a more _suitable_ position.

"There are other things you can do to keep warm during the winter, Sakura," he said, his hushed baritone voice resonating in her ears. She smirked.

"Oh? I didn't know that. Care to show me what you mean?" She could tell that his lips were forming into one of his smirks under his mask.

Within seconds, said mask was pulled down to his chin, and said lips were pressed to hers. Sakura smiled, and wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened.

It tasted like chocolate – sweet and wonderful.

* * *

"We should keep warm like this more often." 

"I agree."

* * *

End.

**D0nQuix0te** and I are writing and posting these fics at the same time. If you'd like to read her one-shots, entitled "30 Harry Potter One-Shots", then just search her name and read away!


	2. Tears

**Title:** Keep Holding On  
**Rating:** K+  
**Prompt:** Tears

**Authors Note: **I'd like to think of this as a belated story for Remembrance Day, of some sorts. I live in Canada, and both my grandfathers were veterans. I'd like to visit the Canadian National Vimy Memorial someday.

This is also very much inspired by "Let It Be", from the Across the Universe soundtrack.

Many thanks to by beta, **D0nQuix0te**, who takes the time to look over all this and find my silly mistakes when there's _probably_ something better she could be doing (like writing her own stuff D:)

* * *

"_As we lay him to rest, we remember the contributions he made_…" 

Sakura stood at the forefront of a mass of people clad in black. She, too, was wearing the solemn colour. It was customary for funerals.

To her left was Naruto. His fists were balled up, and he was trying to stop the tears from coming down. Behind him, Hinata held the hand of her three-year-old daughter, while their eldest son stood beside her, her hand held softly in his.

Sasuke was beside Naruto. It had been the first time anyone had seen a tear trail down his pale skin before. His right hand rested on the head of his youngest daughter, whose small hand gripped the soft cotton of his pants.

On her right stood Kakashi; their hands intertwined. She was shaking. He could only squeeze his hands to show her that he was there, and he understood her anguish.

"…_He will remain in our memories as a son to not only two wonderful parents, but to the entire village…_"

Sakura turned and pressed her face into his shoulder, hiding her tears from the eyes she knew were watching her. Kakashi's hand let go of hers, finding its way to her side and pulling her gently towards him. She shuddered at the contact.

"It'll be alright, Sakura. Don't cry," he whispered.

He didn't realize he himself was crying until his daughter pointed it out to him. The corners of his lips turned up, and he bent down to pick her up into his arms.

"…_Our thoughts, prayers and blessings go out to Hatake Sakumo, and to his family – his father, Kakashi; his mother, Sakura; and his younger sister, Yuri._"

"Love you, big brother," Yuri whispered.

* * *

End. 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and everyone, have an amazing New Years!

- xLHx


	3. Pillow

**Title:** Lazy Sunday  
**Rating:** K  
**Prompt:** Pillow

**Authors Note: **Haven't you always wanted to waste a day away?

Many thanks to by beta,** D0nQuix0te**, who continues to edit my work!

* * *

The former-students of the famous Team 7 family were lounging around in Sakura's apartment. Most likely, they each had more important things to be doing that afternoon than talking to each other, sipping drinks and (in Naruto and Sasuke's case) tossing pennies into a plastic bowl across the room to test their accuracy. 

The current score was Sasuke 21 and Naruto 20, which left Naruto disgruntled.

They were still young. All of them were seventeen and each on the brink of their careers. Sakura worked longer at the hospital, and was still Tsunade's apprentice.

Naruto was still working as hard as ever to become Hokage. He'd already been unofficially given the honour of succeeding Tsunade.

Sasuke, having only come back to the village a few months prior, had to start at the bottom again, and work up to the jounin level that the two of them had achieved.

In the past while, they hadn't had much time to spend together, and when a gracious amount of free time was actually available, none of them actually wanted to do anything involving physical labour.

Thus, their day at home was born.

There was one member of their family that was missing, however. He'd been invited, but most of the time, he turned down their offers, for mostly understandable reasons. Kakashi had not taken on another team, claiming that one team was enough, and instead began taking on more missions.

That, and hanging out with your students was just lame.

Sakura missed their random meals together. Well, most of the time, because she'd normally ended up splitting the bill with Sasuke. She also missed the sparring they did, even though it meant she'd be put to the sidelines while Sasuke and Naruto faced off, and she trained with Kakashi.

"**That's it!**" Sakura was ripped from her reverie when she heard Naruto cry out.

He was on his feet, staring at Sasuke with a feral gaze. Sasuke was sitting on the floor, cross legged, leaning back, with his palms on the floor behind him. He enjoyed seeing Naruto get angry at him.

"What's wrong, dobe?" he taunted.

"You're cheating! I know it!" Naruto pointed a finger at the bowl. It was filled with pennies and now, apparently, nickels and dimes.

"Where are you two getting all the change for this?" Sakura asked curiously, while they continued to bicker. She noticed her purse was sitting on the coffee table. She also noticed that it was open. And her wallet was on the floor nearby, also open. She clenched her fists. Her teeth began grinding together in rage.

_God_, she thought, _they better not have found that picture I have in there._

"How can you cheat at something so _trivial_?" Sasuke droned.

"Why you – " He was stopped when a pillow smacked him in the side of the head, causing him to lose balance and fall over, crashing on top of Sasuke. Sakura stood on the couch, another pillow in hand.

"You'll pay for going through my purse! That's an invasion of privacy!" The two boys looked scared beyond all reason. Hell hath no fury like a women scorned.

"I-it was all teme's fault! C'mon Sakura, you know I wouldn't do anything…"

"Take THIS!"

Sakura leapt from the couch. Naruto could only just grab the pillow above his head to defend himself. Sasuke pushed him off at the last minute and tried to scramble away, but he was hit instead.

Grabbing his own pillow, he entered the battle.

They hadn't even notice Kakashi standing at the door way, leaning against the frame. His eyes were crinkled, and you could tell he was laughing.

When he was hit with a stray pillow and let out a loud **ouch**, his team stopped dead.

"Kakashi! I-I didn't mean t-to hit y-you!" Sakura stammered, clutching her pillow to her chest to muffle her intensely loud heart beat. He bent over, picking up the pillow in his hand. He stood up, still holding it by a corner, and slowly sauntered into the room with a grace no man could achieve.

"Really, I thought when I'd been invited; I'd be greeted with respect! After all, I was your beloved, handsome, talented, amazing –" He was simultaneously hit with three pillows.

"Well, if that's how you play it…" Kakashi swung at Naruto.

The fight ensued.

Sakura smiled while she slammed her pillow against Kakashi's side. She'd finally gotten her family back.

* * *

End. 

Moral of the story: Remember readers, violence can't solve all our problems! It's best to work things out in words! Kindness is a (wo)man's best friend!

Unless someone steals your money, then by all means, beat them senseless. Money's far more important than their physical well being.

Be Kind, Rewind!...

I mean review. Yes. Review.

xLHx

PS:_you know when you get a box of Smarties, and there's always a little riddle or something? Yeah, I have a box sitting here with me, and guess what? NO RIDDLE. Instead, they feel the need to tell me that "good health comes from a balanced diet of BLAH BLAH BLAH"._

_So apparently we're no longer "Smarties". We're "Fatties"._

_Thanks Nestle._


	4. Everlasting

**Title:** If I am Alive This Time Next Year  
**Rating:** K  
**Prompt:** Everlasting

**Authors Note: **I wanted to make this a little more Kakashi-centric, since he's not gotten a lot of "screen time", as it were.

Many thanks to by beta,** D0nQuix0te**, who continues to edit my work!

* * *

Kakashi had had to say "goodbye" to many people in his life. 

Well, to be completely correct, he hadn't been able to say it to many of them personally

For instance, with his father's death: he had found his father, dead, and he'd never been able to say goodbye to him. He remembered exactly the last thing he said to the man – "Get better soon, father. You're a ninja, no matter what happened. There are still people who look up to you."

_Like me._

He'd never even met his mother. She'd died a few months after his birth, due to complications of his birth. He'd seen a few pictures of the three of them – his father, his mother and him – together, when he was a small babe. There was one that he kept safe and sacred.

They were at his old home, in the backyard. His father had his arms wrapped around his mother from behind, and his head rested on her shoulder. His hands were on her forearms. Kakashi was curled in his mothers' arms. The both of them were staring down at him with loving smiles. They looked happy, but he could tell how tired she looked. Her face was smiling, but her eyes, blue like the sky, were tired.

He couldn't ever remember his mother, which was something he occasionally regretted. Ninja weren't supposed to linger on feelings like that. It made them weak.

Still, he wished he could have known her. She had probably been a very kind woman. He wished he could have said goodbye, but it was too late.

Obito had been one of his greatest losses. His best friend, gone, just like that, was something he'd never really gotten over. Yes, they fought, almost all the time. Their relationship was a love/hate one. He loved him, but he hated him; he loved to hate him, and he hated to love him. He was like the brother he never really wanted, but completely relied on.

And in the end, he'd just barely gotten the chance to say goodbye.

Many more deaths had caused Kakashi to slowly alienate himself from everyone. If he never got close to someone, he wouldn't have to worry about them leaving. It had become a habit with him. He simply brought death to those he loved.

When he got a team, he made the choice not to get close to them. They were his students. They weren't anything else.

Too bad that changed.

Each member of his team had an effect on him. When they were younger, he couldn't help but see them as his surrogate children. Naruto and Sasuke were like brothers – arguing constantly, and Sakura was the (mostly) cool-minded sister who would wring their necks if they ever did something stupid, but would risk her life for them if they were in trouble.

With Naruto gone off training with Jiraiya, and Sasuke having defected from the village, he'd lost two members of his family in a short span of time. All he had left was Sakura.

He expected her to leave him somehow after Sasuke and Naruto left. But she never did. Sakura stuck around, if not for him, but for her family – to wait for Naruto, so they could all go out together and find Sasuke, and bring him home.

It comforted him somehow that his 'daughter' would always be there, lasting out just as long as he would.

* * *

End. 

Many pardons for being a day late! I had a major exam today (Monday the 28th) and I felt that it was more in my interest to study for that first :)

I'd love to see your input on this chapter, and the others (if you're new), so if you'd please, review!

Thank you kindly!

Until next time (which will not be a day late!),

xLHx

_P.S -__The title is taken from a song called "__**All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands**__" by one of my favourite artists, __**Sufjan Stevens**__. /end casual plug of awesome music you should listen to right away _


	5. Past

**Title:** Many Meetings  
**Rating:** K  
**Prompt:** Past (as in Past, Present and Future)

**Authors Note: **Thanks for all your concerns; it means a lot to me. :D

These next two updates are connected, this being part one of two. I hope you enjoy them! This one is a long one, and it was really tough to write. But I think I did a decent job at it!

Many thanks to by beta,**D0nQuix0te**, for editing and looking over all the mistakes I might make while writing. And for being a fairly good Rock Band-er.

* * *

Kakashi had a look of absolute horror on his face. What had he been dragged into? Clearly being a ninja didn't entail doing something so… 

"This is stupid," Obito said. Kakashi could only agree.

"No it's not, Obito. You're just scared because you don't know what you're doing," Rin admonished. Obito crossed his arms, huffing.

"It's not like you have a choice, you know." This was the voice of their teacher, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure. He was also laughing at them, if only slightly.

"Sensei, Obito is right. We're ninja, not baby-sitters!" Kakashi said, sounding a little too desperate.

The Yondaime shook his head, a small grin on his lips. That morning, he'd received a letter from a small outpost village a half a day's journey from Konoha, and he had to travel there. He had asked his friend, Kazuo Haruno, to accompany him, along with two others.

Kazuo's only problem was of his family. His wife had been gone for several days, visiting her mother in town outside of Konoha, and wouldn't be back until later that evening. This left no one to watch his infant daughter.

Minato had, gleefully, elected his team to watch her for a day. Surely they could handle a 13 month old baby?

The four of them arrived at Kazuo's doorstep at 8 o'clock that morning. Rin, in excitement, had brought some of her favourite childhood toys from home to play with, filling two bags full of soft dolls, hard plastic odds and ends, and books. The boys were burdened with carrying them.

"You certainly went overboard with the toys, didn't you, Rin-chan?" Kakashi said, grunting as he tried to avoid a leg of a doll that prodded him in the chest.

"Trust me, Kakashi, you'll need them all. Sakura's got a mountain of energy," Minato said, laughing. Kakashi scowled. His sensei always seemed to laugh at everything.

"Her name is Sakura? Oh, that's so cute! She must be an adorable baby," Rin squealed. Clearly, Kakashi thought, no women could resist a baby. He didn't understand what was so great about them.

Kazuo opened the door just then, ushering them inside. His home was very welcoming; a woman definitely lived here, Kakashi speculated. He led them into the living room, where Obito and Kakashi both dropped their bags onto the ground unceremoniously. Rin cried out.

"Don't drop them so hard! Something might break!"

"They're just toys, Rin," Kakashi said, clearly uninterested. Obito nudged him hard in the side.

"They're Rin-chan's toys, stupid. They mean a lot to her!" Kakashi stared at him, giving him a very un-amused and questioning look. So he was going to suck up to Rin here, too? What a man wouldn't do for love.

"Are you almost ready to go, Kazuo?" Minato asked. The man, with hair a vibrant red comparable to the Hokage's crayon yellow, nodded.

"I've just got to get Sakura up and dressed, and you and I can head out to the gates," he explained, stealing up a set of stairs to the upper level of his home. A minute later, Kakashi could hear the cringing sound of a baby crying, and the soft coo's her father made to calm her.

He came downstairs with the young child in his arms, and all Kakashi could see was a mound of bright pink hair.

"No wonder they called her Sakura," Obito said quietly.

When Kazuo entered the room, Kakashi could get a good look at the little girl. She had the biggest green eyes he'd ever seen.

Even bigger was her forehead.

She looked at the three young ninja, curiosity and shyness, written all over her face. When she laid eyes on Minato, her face broke out into a giant smile, and she moved, throwing her arms out in the air, asking him to take her.

Minato laughed, pulling the little girl from her father's arms and holding her above him, grinning ear to ear. Sakura giggled, a few bubbles forming in the corner of her mouth. He brought her back down, resting her on his hip, as if he'd been doing it his whole life. Sakura's hand gripped his flak vest tightly, her hand near her mouth.

"Sakura, say hello to my team," he said, his head tilted down to meet hers. She stared at them, before making a small cry, her way of saying 'Hi Mr Sun-Hair's team'.

Rin grinned just as big as her sensei, going over to stand next to him. Sakura looked at her, her green eyes as wide as saucers.

"I'm Rin, Sakura-chan. I'll be watching you today!" she said. Sakura smiled in response.

"Minato…" Kazuo trailed off. He stood near the door, bag over his shoulders.

"Yes, yes, we've got to get going, I know." He crossed the room, putting Sakura into her father's arms. She grabbed at his hair, and he smiled softly at her.

"We're going to be going now, Sakura-chan. Mom will be home tonight," he said. Kakashi mentally sighed. How could that man honestly believe that the baby understood him?

Sakura made a small shriek-like cry, and pulled on his hair, before he passed her into Rin's arms. The two men waved goodbye to the three young ninja, escaping out the front door. Minato leapt away almost immediately. Kazuo stood just outside the door, just about to go away, when he turned his head around over his shoulder.

"By the way, she just learned how to walk, and she's a speedy little thing. You'd be best to watch out for her."

And then he was gone.

Rin closed the door; Sakura still nestled on her hip, and walked back into the living room. Obito and Kakashi were still standing there awkwardly, eyeing the baby with mixed feelings.

"Sakura-chan, this is Obito-kun," she pointed towards the Uchiha, making him deliver a toothy grin in response," and Kakashi-kun." Kakashi continued to stare at her.

"What are we going to do now?" he said dryly. Rin clicked her tongue.

"Well, she hasn't been fed yet, so I figure that's step one. There's probably a bottle waiting for her in the fridge. Can one of you go and get it?" Obito jumped at the chance, scrambling to where he thought the kitchen was.

* * *

By noon hour, Sakura had taken one half hour nap, thrown one bowl of cereal onto the floor, gone through a third of Rin's toys, had gotten her shirt dirty with _something_(they couldn't name what it was), pulled out at _least_a fistful of Obito's hair, and had to be changed three times. Kakashi was starting to become scared of children. She was more of a tyrant than half of the enemies he'd ever faced! 

It was lunch time.

He was not looking forward to this.

Kazuo had left a jar of baby food, a small cup of grapes, a slice of ham, and a sip cup of orange juice. It was their job to feed her, and she was mildly grumpy from her nap.

"Come on now, Sakura-chan, open wide," Rin said, holding a spoon with mashed carrots on it. She imitated Sakura's supposed actions, opening her mouth to convince her to eat. Kakashi snorted.

"What's so funny?" she snapped, turning towards him.

"You look ridiculous, that's all. It's amazing how people act around babies," he replied, sounding almost bored.

"Obito acts like a baby, and yet you treat him like an adult, what's the difference?" Obito snapped up at the mention of his name, a jar of strawberry baby food in his hand.

"If you're so smart, why don't _you_ give it a try, hm?" Rin said, motioning for him to take the spoon from her.

"No."

That remained his sole answer. Rin scowled at him, and turned back to baby Sakura, her grin planted right back onto her face. Sakura smiled back at her and opened her mouth to continue her lunch.

* * *

When lunch was over, Rin began doing the dishes they'd made making their own meals, while Kakashi and Obtio were in charge of watching Sakura. Obito stood up in front of her high chair, grinning from ear to ear. 

"Wanna have some fun, Sakura-chan?" he said. Sakura's natural baby instinct was to grin back and laugh a noise Kakashi compared to a screech. Sakura raised her arms high above her head.

"Alright, alright, I'll let you down," he said, lifting her from under her shoulders and gently putting her down on her feet. He stood up, smiling at Kakashi.

"Watching kids isn't all that bad, now that I've had a hand at it. I think I'm getting better at it every minute!" he beamed. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, well then, Mr I'm-a-baby-sitting-S-class, where's Sakura?"

"What?" Obito looked down, to find one baby not at his feet where he left her. He could hear the nefarious laughter of a 13 month old baby from… well, _everywhere_. From the front room, upstairs, behind them – a surrounding giggle that shook Kakashi to the bone.

"_Shit_," Obito cursed, and he ran off into the house. Kakashi ran in another direction, helping him in his search. She can't have gotten far, could she? She was only a baby!

* * *

After Rin beat up Obito for losing Sakura, the three of them set off searching the house silently, listening for any noise that didn't belong. It was either someone trying to kill them, or ideally, a baby, gurgling on something. 

Kakashi was out in their background, looking behind everything he could. No stone was left unturned, that sort of thing.

As he left the yard to go back inside, he spotted a glimpse of pink moving in the back of his peripheral vision. As he turned, he saw it trail behind the shed – he could hear her giggle.

With the stealth of a ninja, he approached the shed, to the side she'd hidden behind. When he reached the corner, Kakashi jumped out. "Gotcha!" he said to…

… No one?

He could hear her giggling from around the corner. He didn't spare time or noise this time, and raced over, catching her under her arms before she had the chance to run again. She screamed with laughter, and he couldn't help but smile, just a little.

"What were you doing, Sakura-chan?" he asked. She stared at him for a moment, and then covered her eyes with her chubby arms.

"You were playing Hide and Seek, eh? You're pretty good at it, you know. Kazuo-san should be pleased. You'll make a good ninja, if you want to," he went on.

Kakashi realized at that moment that he was _talking_ to a _baby_like she could understand the words he was saying. He held her close, so that her head was resting on his shoulder, and she was staring over him towards the backyard. She started squirming, reaching out behind him.

"What? What's out there?" Kakashi turned around, and saw nothing but the backyard. She'd turned in his arms, practically falling out of his grip if he hadn't reacted fast enough. Sakura wanted to stay outside.

He really couldn't complain. It was a beautiful day outside, and he'd not been able to actually _enjoy_ the outdoors in such a long time. Besides, playing with a one year old who was amused by pushing dirt didn't seem like such a challenge. He just had to make sure she didn't hurt herself. Or eat dirt, no matter how good of an idea it seemed at the time.

Ten minutes later, Rin and Obito had run into the backyard, after not hearing anything from Kakashi. He was crouched down, balancing on the tips of his feet, while Sakura was exploring a tree.

"So you found her, then?" Rin said as she and Obito approached them. Kakashi looked up from the baby he'd been watching; slightly surprised to hear Rin's voice from behind him.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. She was playing Hide and Seek with you, Obito, just you didn't know it. I think she found a squirrel's nest in the tree," he stated matter-of-factly, turning his attention back to Sakura, who was face to face with a worm. He reached out before she shoved it into her mouth.

* * *

There were only two hours left of their babysitting time, and each of the ninja could honestly say that they were exhausted. When Minato-sensei had said that Sakura had an insane amount of energy, they didn't think he meant she was _this_ energetic. 

They were in the living room. Rin sat with Sakura on the floor, reading her a picture book she brought. Obito was sitting in a chair, reading another one in complete concentration. Kakashi was lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

When the clock chimed 5 o'clock, Rin took Sakura into the kitchen to feed Sakura.

"**OBITO, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!**"

"What? What did I do?" he said, standing up from his seat, completely confused.

Rin stormed into the room, Sakura hanging off of her hip, staring with odd piercing eyes.

"You ate all the baby food! ALL OF IT! How could you manage that?" she scolded. Kakashi broke out into laughter.

"It… it was just really good!" Obito defended. Rin sighed.

"Well, thanks to you, Sakura doesn't have anything to eat. We're going to have to go and get her more now," she said, putting Sakura into Kakashi's lap, with a small command of 'watch her'. She put her hands on her hips, staring at the young Uchiha.

"We? What do you mean, _we_?"

"Well, obviously you're going to pay for what you ate, and I obviously can't trust you to get baby food on your own if you're going to eat it all!"

They argued their way out the door.

Kakashi sat, staring at Sakura. She stared back at her.

"Now what?"

Sakura climbed up and grabbed his hair.

* * *

When Rin and Obito came back, the house was quiet. Obito was carrying two bags filled to the max with all the baby foods they could buy. Rin made sure he paid every cent for what he ate, and then some. 

Along the way, they'd met up with Kazuo's wife, Maya, and the three of them walked back together.

"We're back, Kakashi!" she called.

No answer.

"Kakashi? Hey, where are you?" Obito called this time. Still no answer. The two of them stared at each other, before rushing into the living room, worried out of their minds.

"Hey, idiot, why didn't you –" Rin clamped her hand over his mouth, putting her free finger to her lips. She smirked, and cocked her head to the side.

Kakashi was asleep on the sofa, lying down exactly where they'd left him. On top of him, curled up on his chest, was baby Sakura, passed out from her day's worth of activities.

Rin smiled.

Behind them came a quick _click_ noise, and the two of them snapped around. Maya stood behind them, to the right, holding a camera, and smiling from ear to ear.

"I thought I'd capture the moment," she laughed. Obito eyed the camera.

"You wouldn't happen to be making doubles of that picture, would you...?"

* * *

End. 

I don't know a whole lot about kids, what with me being the youngest and, um, a little scared of them... excuse the inaccuracies!

Hang tight for the next update. It'll be along tonight (the 24th of Feb). Sometime. Before I go to bed.

I think when I update next, I might put in some fancy fluff/lime-y stuff. I'm way overdue :O

Sincerely,

xLHx


	6. Embarrassment

**Title:** Take My Photo Off The Wall  
**Rating:** K  
**Prompt:** Embarrassment

**Authors Note: **Part two of two! This one is much shorter, but I still kinda like it. I was written fairly quickly by my standards – done in one sitting! While munching on the worlds most unbelievable muffins!

Many thanks to by beta, **D0nQuix0te**, who continues to edit my work! At such a time like this, too, surely, she's a good friend!

* * *

Sakura pressed her face into Kakashi's shoulder, her face hot with a blush redder than a rose. She was, however, smiling uncontrollably. 

Kakashi was wide eyed, his mouth slightly agape. But he started laughing soon after, turning and pressing a kiss on Sakura's head.

Sakura's mother was delivering a speech about how the two of them met – how they _first_ met. All the guests at their wedding – _At least a hundred, oh God!_ Sakura thought – were laughing along with Maya as she retold what Rin had told her all those years ago.

"Oh, you should have seen them! Honestly, this picture doesn't do them justice at all. It was such a precious scene, really. Sakura, you were such a hyperactive child, did you know that?"

"Yes, mother," she mumbled, her face still hidden in Kakashi's sleeve.

"Oh, but she was so calm with him! I've never seen her so quiet! I wish I knew what you did, Kakashi, it would have made raising her so much easier!" Maya laughed. Kazuo, a greying man, laughed beside her.

"It would have been quieter, and definitely less painful on my hair," he added.

Later that evening – way, way, _way_ later in the evening, after all the guests had had a few drinks to loosen themselves up, including Maya, she continued her story to the table she, her daughter and new son-in-law, as well as their friends, were sitting at.

"Oh, but I didn't tell you the best part! Obito, that trickster, he took, he took other photo's. Close ups, if you will," she laughed. All the attention of the table was focused on her. Including Sakura and Kakashi's own horrified faces.

"He did _what_ now?" Kakashi asked slowly. Maya patted him on the back, laughing.

"Oh, it was nothing embarrassing, Kakashi. The both of you were sleeping; he didn't take that much of advantage on you."

"Oh dear…" Sakura wailed.

It was then that Maya remembered that she _had_brought that photo with her.

She produced the photograph, grinning from ear to ear, with the occasional hiccup.

It was still a shot of Baby Sakura, sleeping directly on top of Kakashi's chest. She was curled up like a kitten, her chubby cheeks pillowing under her face, and her hands clutching at his shirt.

Kakashi had his hand resting on her back, unconsciously protecting her from falling off. His head was too the side, and his mask had been pulled down. His hair covered a lot of his face, obstructing a clear view of his full profile once again.

But what embarrassed Sakura the most was the _very_ obvious pool of drool underneath her mouth, getting onto Kakashi's shirt.

Sakura pressed her face into her hands, completely mortified, but laughing with everyone else all the same. Kakashi was roaring with laughter.

"Don't laugh, idiot! It's embarrassing!"

"Its fine, Sakura; you were only a baby. I can definitely forgive you," he said, planting a kiss on her (large) forehead.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Naruto grabbed the picture from Ino's hands. She had been laughing too wildly to notice. He squinted at the picture, and then began laughing harder than he had before.

"Looks like you're not off the hook quite yet, Kakashi! You're just as bad as Sakura-chan!" he roared, waving the picture in front of him.

"What do you mean by that?" he said, snatching the photo from Naruto's hands. His former-student rushed behind him, pointing to his photographed face.

"Look! You're _drooling_, sensei!"

There, in perfect colour, was photo evidence that Kakashi, while napping, had indeed drooled. It was blocked by his hair, and the generally awful angle that Obito had taken the photo (_Good, reliable Obito, Kakashi thought_), but nevertheless, on the pillow he was lying on was a little puddle of his own drool.

Sakura burst with laughter.

"So, Kakashi, who's the baby now?"

* * *

End. 

I feel a slight bit of pride in that there aren't many baby pictures of me. There are four I do like. A sequence of photos of me reaching into a pumpkin, and then taking out some of the insides, eating it, and then facing the camera with my hand in my mouth. Did _no one _think to stop me?

Clearly not.

Hoping your parents took normal pictures of you when you were a baby!,

**xLHx**

_ PS - review, if you'd be so kind! It fuels me, truly, it does. _

PPS - I actually don't know Sakura's parents names. I just found a name that suited her father. And I totally borrowed her mom's from Phoenix Wright... ahem.


	7. Fragile

**Title:** **Title:** Live through this, and you won't look back.

**Rating:** K

**Prompt:** no 11 - Fragile

**Authors Note: **So I'm back. From outer space! I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face.

It's been a while, but I've got another chapter, and probably another one coming up in the next while. I'm on a roll! =D Hooray!

Happy (insert all the holidays I missed here)!

Many thanks to by beta, **D0nQuix0te**, who continues to edit my work!

* * *

Six and a half hours.

It had been six and a half hours since she's entered the hospital. She had entered labour while she was out to lunch. Kakashi felt a small amount of resentment that no one had thought to inform him.

That was all the message said when one of Naruto's toad's appeared beside him. To be frank, it actually said a lot less, in a much more Naruto way, but Kakashi didn't have time to dawdle. He was going to be late. His wife was about to give birth to his first child.

* * *

Kakashi was on a mission, doing unnecessary reconnaissance for some neurotic Lord who thought he was being stalked for an assassination. The man hired a three-man jonin squad for the job. A definite overkill, Tsunade had said, but the man was paying a lot, and any money is good money in Tsunade's books, which left Kakashi, Genma and Gai sitting on a roof, staring at the people passing by the Lord's home.

That number had yet to reach the double digits. The same people had passed by twice already, and those were two laundresses who scurried in and out, anxiously trying remain out of their line of vision. Genma had decided that it was as good a time as any to catch up on some of the sleep he'd been missing, and so he was lying down on the rooftops, dozing off.

Even Gai, a man of constant vigilance, was more relaxed on this mission. Sure, he was still alert, but he no longer possessed the alertness of a hunting dog. It was more the alertness of a golden retriever sitting on the front porch of its master's home, occasionally swatting flies off of his snout.

This left Kakashi trying to see how long he could balance a kunai on his fingertip. His previous record was 30 minutes, and he was, by his count, a few minutes away from surpassing that, a fact that he wasn't exactly that proud of.

This also made leaving them a whole lot easier when the messenger toad popped into existence next to him.

"Message from Naru-chan, Kakashi!" the young female chirped. He looked at her quizzically, taking the small scroll off of her back. She sat there, barely big enough to occupy his hand, staring at him expectantly.

"You can go?" he said, uncertain whether she was waiting for something.

"Nope, Naru-chan said I was to stay until you read the note, so you can give your reply." He nodded, and slipped the string off of the roll.

_The baby's coming. I guess the kid didn't like the ramen we had for lunch. – Uncle N _

Kakashi's eyes widened. _Today of all days!_ he thought. He stared the little toad straight in the eye.

"Tell her I'm on my way. Tell her I won't stop for _anything_," he said, absolute seriousness (and a small hint of dread) lacing his voice.

"Yes sir, Kakashi-san!" she squeaked, poofing out in another burst of smoke.

Kakashi stood up, packing the kunai back into its holster. He looked out into the horizon, scanning his surroundings.

"Gai, what's the shortest distance from here to Konoha that will get me there the fastest?" he asked. Gai looked up at him.

"Straight north. Even you knew that. Why?"

Kakashi gave him the note, leaping off the roof at a break neck speed. Gai read the note, and smiled. He shoved at Genma's shoulder, waking him up.

"Ah, hey, I was sleeping. Hey, where's Kakashi?"

"It seems that the Wonders of Youth have blessed him today, Genma! We should celebrate!" Gai laughed.

"Say what?" Gai handed him the note, which lead Genma to chuckle softly.

"Good luck, Hatake. You're gonna need it!" Genma called out.

Tree. Tree. Bush. Tree. Tree.

Kakashi sprung through the forest, leaping off of each thick tree branch with as much energy as ten men. He wanted, no,_ needed_ to get to Sakura as fast as he could. He would _not_ miss this.

He would not miss the birth of his first child.

His child…

_Oh god_, he thought, _I'm going to be a terrible father._

He couldn't stop the momentum he had gained, nor would he, but his thoughts while travelling to the village were much the same.

_Who am I kidding? How can I possibly be a good father? If there was a guidebook you were supposed to read when you got the news, I certainly didn't get it. What if he hates me? What if…_

He imagined Sakura handing the baby to him for the first time, and that he would hold him… or her (although he was really hoping for a him) awkwardly, and the baby would stare up at him and probably be thinking '_if this is my father, I want a blood test!'_ Kakashi imagined that he would probably almost drop him, but Sakura would catch him, and never let him hold the baby again.

He imagined when the child would be a year old; sitting in a high chair, refusing to eat the food Kakashi was trying to feed him. And when he could start speaking, Kakashi knew it would be when he was again trying to feed him. And his first words would be "I hate you."

Kakashi could feel his soul laughing at him. It had a dark, evil laugh.

What he couldn't figure out was whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that the kid would be an amazing ninja. Considering that he even wanted to be a ninja at all. Kakashi shuddered at the thought that one day the boy would come up and say '_Mom, Dad, I'm going to be a hermit in the mountains for the rest of my life because Dad made the prospect of being a ninja stupid,'_ and then he'd go and do it, and never speak to him again.

Kakashi knew he would be a terrible father. The boy would be perfect, and he'd hate his father forever.

All these things ran through his mind while he bounded towards the hospital, now with a proverbial heavy load on his shoulders. It had taken him a good two and a half hours to get there on his own two feet. He mentally cursed himself for not preparing a teleportation scroll earlier for such a long distance. He was normally prepared for everything. He just had never had to deal with something like _this_ before.

Kakashi tried not to knock over everything that went past him as he raced through the hallways when he got there, skidding to a halt when he got to the floor he knew she was on. He'd taken the stairs; the elevator was far too slow. He opened it and stood there, staring at the door to Sakura's room. She was only a few in from the end of the hall where the staircase was.

He didn't hear any screaming of pain at that moment. He thought maybe she wasn't having a contraction at that moment, so she would be in a little quiet lull before she would scream out again, and they'd eventually wheel her off to the maternity ward. Or it was false labour, and she wasn't giving birth at all. That seemed like a good sign to him.

The door to her room opened.

"I'll send another message then, Sakura-chan, to see if he's on his way or not."

It was Naruto's voice. He stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, his eyes to the ground, and sighed.

"Stupid idiot," he murmured. He turned and ambled off down the hallway away from Kakashi, not noticing him at all. Kakashi interpreted this as some sort of silent cue from the gods that be.

He opened the door, and stepped inside. There was a washroom that blocked his view of where he knew Sakura's bed to be.

"Did you forget something, Naruto?" he heard her say.

"Not quite."

"Kakashi!"

She was sitting on the bed, the top of it elevated to support her back. She was wearing a white hospital smock and one of her sweaters over her shoulders, unzipped. She looked fairly tired.

And she had a baby in her arms.

He froze at the end of the bed.

"Sakura, I know it's late, I'm sorry I couldn't get here faster, I-"

"I know you were going as fast as you can. You smell like it. Don't worry about it; it's not your fault. He just wanted to get into the world faster. He just couldn't wait for his father show to up," she interrupted. Sakura stared down at the baby and giggled. "At least we know he didn't inherit your chronic lateness, eh?"

"He?" Kakashi stepped closer, taking the chair that was at the bedside he assumed Naruto was using earlier. He stared at the baby in his wife's arms.

"Yup. A baby boy. He looks a lot like you. Would you like to hold him?" she asked, staring at him with a soft smile. His eyes widened. He could feel himself getting anxious.

This was the moment of truth. It was the make or break for whether his son would like him.

Kakashi stood up slightly, leaning over to take the baby from her outstretched arms. She reminded him to keep his head supported, and to keep his arm under him. He leant back and took a seat in his chair, using one hand to move the blanket away from his face.

Kakashi's mind was doing back flips that he hadn't dropped his son yet. '_So far so good_'.

Sakura was right. Even at barely a few hours old, he could tell that he looked like him. He felt light in his arms, Kakashi was afraid that he would break him. He was lighter than average, Sakura said, but he was completely healthy. Kakashi smiled, nodding his head while continuing to stare down at his son. The boy opened his eyes, and stared up at Kakashi. He felt his breath stop when their gazes met.

"He's got your eyes, Sakura," whispered Kakashi. She smiled, leaning over the side of the bed to get closer. She leant over to give him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I haven't named him yet, you know. I was going to wait for you for that," she said.

"I was thinking of Sakumo. After my father."

"Me too. I think that'd be lovely. Sakumo Hatake, the best ninja of his generation," she said proudly. Kakashi nodded. He stood up to pass him back to Sakura, laying a kiss on her forehead, then his son's.

"That's right. You may be small now, but I can tell you're going to be one of the strongest ninja that will ever live, Sakumo Hatake."

* * *

End.

Sorry for not uploading anything for so long D: Life. It finds you one day, while you're busy, and then it asks you out for a coffee to catch up, which you accept to out of kindness, and then you're stuck with it for a long time talking about everything that doesn't really interest you. But at some point, you realize it's getting late, and you have to go home to make dinner. So you leave your cell phone number and tell them to add you on facebook, since it's a lot easier to catch up that way. Which basically means "_You can say happy birthday, but I'm going to reject all those stupid apps from you. Nice talking to ya!_"

Long story short. I got a job. And then school. And then more school.

Silly life, existing like it does!

I hope your life doesn't make you sit down with coffee for a few hours, too!

**xLHx**

_p.s. the title of this chapter comes from the song "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" by Stars. Probably the antithesis of what KakaSaku is, but it's a really awesome song, and one of my favourites!_


	8. Warmth

**Title:** _All I want is you, will you stay with me? Hold me in your arms and sway me like the sea._  
**Rating: **K+**  
Prompt:** 05. Warmth

**Authors Note: **I dislike winter. If you look at my profile, you'll see that I live in Canada. I live in one of the warmer, more global-warming affected areas, but it's still bitter cold in the winter.

However, this one isn't about winter. It's about summer. A much nicer season! Albeit rainy (at least where I am Dx), but I'll take rain over snow any day.

Many thanks to by beta, **D0nQuix0te**, who continues to edit my work, and actually took the story half-way-to-being-finished so that she could give me an idea.

_And for introducing me to True Blood. I can't wait until my bandwidth resets itself for the month._

* * *

She looked at him from across their camp. _Damn_, she thought, _he can sit through anything_.

The two of them were on a mission at an outpost village in the Fire country along with Naruto and Sai. As always they paired together and split up to cover more ground. The boys were watching one of the passes into the village, which according to the reports, were being used by smugglers. Sakura and Kakashi covered another.

They sat on opposite sides of the road, staring dully at the horizon. These missions always turned up as duds. But the pay was good, and Tsunade was always looking for money, so they'd accepted the mission. It felt like a routine to the team, but in the end, money was money.

What they forgot about, before accepting, was the season.

For each of the two days they'd spend on the mission, it had rained. Kakashi called it endurance training. Naruto called it perfect camouflage. Sai called it annoying, since many of his jutsu were now useless.

Sakura thought it was sickening.

_Literally_ sickening. She could hear Kakashi's teeth chattering through the earpiece of her headset. Her medic instinct was to go over and give him a little chakra to boost his body heat. Her ninja instinct knew not to – she'd reveal their position, and without someone on the other side of the road, they were more liable for an attack. _And_, she thought,_he'd probably just wave me off and try to think of a warm climate to warm himself up. As if that actually_ worked.

"_Sakura._" His voice came over the headset, surprising her.

"Yes?"

"_Did I ever tell you about the time I had a mission in the Snow country?_" She replied no, he hadn't told her about the time he had a mission in the Snow country. He'd never explained _any_ of his missions from his _younger_ days, before they became a team.

"_I'm not _that_ old, Sakura. Anyway, it was me and two others. We were stranded in a cave during a blizzard. We built a barricade of snow at the mouth of the cave so the wind wouldn't blow in and freeze us to death, but it was still far below freezing inside. Any fires we built went out as fast as we could make them. We learned quickly that sharing body heat was the best means of survival. You learn things like that in basic training, I guess, but no one really pays attention to those silly things. I never thought I'd ever get stuck in a blizzard in any case. We would have frozen to death if we hadn't stuck together like we did._"

"Oh, really?" she said. She could even hear her voice smirking at the thought.

"_It's true. I wouldn't be your loyal, wonderful, strong –_"

"Just shut up and open your arms, you idiot." This quip, Kakashi noticed, came from directly in front of him. Sakura's shoulders showed that she had indeed jumped across the road to his side, and was kneeling in front of him on the large limb of the tree he was resting on.

He did as he was asked, letting her in so that she could sit in the tree with him, finding a comfortable place in between his legs. To be fair, Kakashi mused, she was more or less lying down on top of him than actually sitting.

"Really, Sakura, if you wanted to cuddle, all you had to do was ask."

She punched him in the side lightly, hiding her face from view, but he could feel her face slip into a smile.

They sat in amicable silence for what seemed like ages. There was no need for words between them. She rested her head against his chest, staring out at the road, while he held his infamous book in his right hand, flipping it expertly with one finger when it was time. His left hand seemed to be occupied by Sakura, who felt the urge to fiddle with it while they were waiting.

Sakura and Kakashi had been involved for a few weeks. For the short time they'd been together, they'd accomplished more than most couples took years to do, relationship wise. Sakura reasoned it was simply over a years worth of unresolved sexual tension boiling over and exploding, resulting in the relationship they were currently in. Kakashi didn't like the term 'relationship', nor did he consent to the words 'boyfriend', 'honey', 'main squeeze' or 'man'. It didn't bother Sakura all that much, if one were to ask her.

Well, maybe it did a little bit. Some recognition would be nice, she thought to herself.

Then again, she would think, what he lacked in public demonstrations of their affections, he more than made up for in private. She smiled to herself, turning her head up to look towards him.

"Are you warmer now?" she asked. He looked down at her, his visible eye crinkling up into a smile.

"Yes, but not warm enough. I think it'd be best if you –"

Kakashi broke off, taking his eyes off of Sakura to stare out into the distance. Sakura could feel his body tensing up.

"Did you hear that, Sakura?" he asked. She sat up, concentrating on the sounds around them.

"It sounds like two pairs of footsteps, walking towards us." Sure enough, two bodies appeared in the horizon – villagers, a middle aged man, and what seemed to be his daughter. Kakashi watched their steps with incredibly scrutiny.

"They're just villagers, Kakashi. They're probably coming from another town after being away," she whispered, looking down at them. They were about forty feet away, making their way towards their position in the trees.

"Listen to their footsteps, Sakura, to their breathing. Don't they sound too laboured for villagers carrying a simple pack on their backs?" Sakura listened closely, filtering out the sounds around her to concentrate on the two villagers below. She first thought that perhaps they'd been travelling for a while, and they were simply tired. Sakura was well aware that the road leading to their position was as flat as possible. The way their shoulders were hunched over, as if they were carrying something heavy, gave them away.

"Naruto, Sai, we've found the smugglers. We're going in," Kakashi said through his headpiece. He and Sakura stared each other in the eye, saying everything in silence.

_Which one do you want, Kakashi?_

_I'll take the guy down. We don't want things to get uncomfortable and sexist._

_Fine, but if you get in trouble, it's not my fault_.

They leapt from the trees, Kakashi heading them off, and Sakura taking a place in the bushes beside the road, ready to strike at the signal.

"Where would two folks like yourselves be heading too?" Kakashi asked casually.

"We're headed to the village, sir. My father and I have been in the town over, selling things at the market."

"Oh? But the village here has one of the greatest marketplaces around. Why would you want to go someplace else when you'd prosper here?"

"We've, uh, -" the older man cut her off.

"We've been in that market for years. We wanted a change of scenery," he said, stepping forward into Kakashi's personal space.

"What is it that you sell?"

"Just knick knacks. We left them at our stall in the other village. We've only come to get more things and rest, and then go back. We've been on the road for a long while, and all we want is to get home, so if you wouldn't mind moving – "

"Oh, well, if you've been travelling for a long time, you wouldn't mind if I carried your daughter's bag for her. She looks awfully tired." Kakashi reached towards her, and she reacted swiftly, knocking his hand away, her own carrying a kunai.

"_Now, Sakura_."

Within a split second, Sakura stood, and slammed her fist against the ground. Kakashi leapt into the air, avoiding the rupturing earth as the bandits stumbled, their guises breaking. Before them stood two bandits, one female and one male, who was considerably younger than his disguise. On their shoulders were two large bags, full to the brim with whatever they were stealing. In an instant, they had discarded the loads they were carrying, and were holding weapons in their hands.

For being two smugglers, Sakura though, they put up an incredibly good fight. She was glad to take the girl on instead of the man. The girl was exceptionally strong, and Sakura was looking for a challenge. She was a very nimble fighter who excelled in dodging her opponent's attacks. The idea was to exhaust her opponent and strike when they were weak. The problem with people like this, Sakura knew, was that the reason they exhibited such amazing agility was because they lacked the defence and stamina to take multiple hits.

Sakura, being trained by not only Hatake Kakashi, but the fifth Hokage, and possessing more honour than the sliver that this girl was trained with, knew exactly how to defeat her.

It was simple, really: she just had to be faster.

Sakura concentrated her chakra into her feet and into her right fist. With the boost of chakra propelling her faster, and the chakra in her fist fuelling her punch, she easily landed a hit against the girl, sending her soaring away, the ground futilely trying to brace her speed.

With a quick glance to confirm that, yes, the girl was knocked completely unconscious, Sakura turned her attention towards Kakashi. The man he was fighting barely stood a chance, it seemed. As Sakura looked on, she watched as Kakashi struck him in several pressure points, rendering his arms completely useless. Kakashi then disabled his legs, leaving the man in a crumpled heap in the mud, also unconscious.

"I think the guy paying us will be thrilled to see the smugglers have been captured and detained, wouldn't you think, Sakura?" Kakashi said, taking a place next to Sakura.

"I should hope so. We've been sitting out here for ages!" Sakura looked down at herself. Mud caked her legs up to her knees, as well as a fair portion of her arms, and on her back, from the splash made by her feet. "Look at me, I'm soaking wet and covered in mud!" she exclaimed. Kakashi snorted.

"What?"

"You do realize you're a combination of two of every male's fantasies right now?" he said. Sakura blushed, punching Kakashi in the arm.

"Aw man, we missed it!"

Naruto and Sai appeared, both slightly winded.

"Sorry. They didn't put up much of a fight," Sakura shrugged.

"I honestly thought they'd be stronger," Kakashi said, poking his foot at the man on the ground to flip him over. 'Wouldn't want him to drown in mud' was the excuse he explained when he caught Sakura's questioning look.

"You called us over for nothing, Kakashi!" Naruto whined.

"We're finished here, I take it?" Sai asked. Kakashi nodded.

"It's lucky you're here though. Sakura and I are simply exhausted from the fight. You're going to have to carry these two back to the village so they can be arrested," Kakashi said. Sakura couldn't help but giggle.

"WHAT? Kakashi, that's not fair!"

"Life's not fair, Naruto, now get carrying. It's a bit of a walk back to the village," Kakashi said, a smirk showing through his mask. Naruto obligingly went to pick up one of the bandits. Sai cut in front of him, lifting both of them over his shoulders.

"Hey!"

"Someone has to carry all the smuggled goods back. I'll carry the criminals, you can carry the evidence," Sai said, in an emotionless voice. He quickly turned towards the village, leaving Naruto to gather the discarded packs.

"These are heavier than the people! Hey, wait up!"

Sakura couldn't restrain her smile.

"Shall we?" Kakashi said. She nodded, and the two of them began walking a short distance behind Naruto and Sai, watching as Naruto struggled with the weight he had to carry, and attempted to convince Sai to switch.

"It's like we're watching our kids," she said. She hadn't thought of the second meaning she'd implied. She peered over at Kakashi, seeing if he had caught what she said. Assuming his reaction, it was most likely that he hadn't.

The rain had let up considerably, but much to Sakura's chagrin, the cloud cover hadn't yet disappeared. She shivered, rubbing her bare arms with her gloved hands in an effort to generate heat.

"Are you cold, Sakura?"

"N-no. I'm fine. Just a little chilly, but I'll warm up soon. This is nothing compared to when the furnace at my apartment goes on the fritz. And I bet it's nothing compared to your time in the Snow country," she chirped, trying to cover her chattering teeth.

"I was going to suggest that maybe, if you were up to it, you and I could continue the… _conversation_ we were having earlier. At my place. Over some coffee, maybe a movie. You know, if you're up to it," he said, in his 'casual Kakashi' kind of way. He kept his gaze forward, never once losing step. Sakura smiled, and veered herself towards him, moving close enough that his arm shot out at reflex to put it over her shoulder.

"I'd love to."

* * *

End.

I hope everyone is having an awesome summer! I think someone told me that kids in the States were starting school today (the 13th), but I'm not 100% sure on that. I mean, a Thursday? I start my last semester on... the... 8th. I hope I can churn out another one of these before then!

**xLHx**


	9. Why?

**Title:** _I'll hold you close in my arms; I can't resist your charms_  
**Rating: **T**  
Prompt:** 19. Why?

**Authors Note: **I'm experiencing a terrible, terrible heatwave. I think this one-shot is relevant to anyone who is, right now, sitting at home, sticking to their chairs, or know what it's like to want to beg for winter almost as soon as it was gone.

Muchos Gracias goes to **D0nQuix0te**, who is still sticking around. She's the Hombre to my Broski, and I love her for it.

* * *

Kohohagakure was known for several things; it's incredibly strong ninja forces; the home of the First and Second Generation of Sannin; the lush forests surrounding it that give it its name. The one thing that most people didn't know about Konohagakure was that in the summer months, almost like clockwork, the village would be hit with a heat wave.

Civilians began to shed their layers, stripping down to the barest essentials of clothing. While this could be considered a good thing, as young girls got to see their crushes shirtless, and young boys got to see girls wearing clothing that left barely anything to the imagination, in some circumstances, those who served Konoha has ninja felt less fortunate.

One such man was Hatake Kakashi, who felt like an idiot. In the sweltering heat, which had risen to 32 degrees from the 29 that it had been that morning, he was on a mission, and was forced to wear the standard navy blue shirt and pants, along with the very thick and very unforgiving flak vest. It wasn't a very demanding mission by any means, if you could call it that, as he'd simply been sent by Tsunade to a small village just outside of Konoha to get a package of scroll's that were deemed too important to be sent by a regular messenger. Something about land disputes and how she was the only one who could solve it.

Kakashi had made it to the village at the peak of the afternoon heat, and taken a small break to have one cold drink before returning. He knew he was supposed to be on a tight schedule and was expected back by the late afternoon (or, as she'd put it, 'before dinnertime') but he could easily lay blame to helping a poor old woman back to her home because she suffered a heat stroke or something to that effect. Maybe the woman would be pregnant. Pregnant woman were very delicate, as far as he knew. Besides, he figured, Tsunade wouldn't even be in her office; she'd probably be hiding somewhere cool and dark, drinking herself stupid to make it through the day, and forcing Shizune to do her work for her. Work that Shizune would do a half ass job at to spite her.

He didn't blame her one bit.

"This is torture," he said aloud. No one was around him, but he felt like proclaiming it.

By the time he'd gotten back to Konoha, it was just past sunset – around seven in the evening. He'd already gone to Tsunade's office, and literally dropped the scrolls onto her desk. He didn't give a crap what happened to them after that.

As he approached his apartment, he noticed something odd. Kakashi could clearly remember that he did not open his windows before he left that morning, in an effort to keep the cool air from the night before inside. He also did not remember owning a small black fan, which was currently sitting in his window, seemingly sucking in the breeze that was graciously hitting his back.

Kakashi ascended the stairs leading to his home at a record speed, opening the unlocked door.

"_Hello? Who's there? If you're a rapist, I'm gonna warn you, I can probably kick your ass_," a voice called. It was a very, very female voice - a very, very female voice that he would be hard pressed to forget.

"Sakura, it's me," he called back as he closed the door behind him. He could hear her sigh with relief as she walked from the living room to the door.

It seemed Sakura had already gotten a head start on what he'd been planning for the evening: greeting him was a twenty year old girl wearing nothing more than light blue underwear and a white tank top. Her shoulder length hair was piled at the back of her head in a clip. She held a paper fan in her hands, and he could see the drops of sweat grouping on her nose.

"Sakura, why are you in my apartment?" he asked as he began pulling off his vest. She stepped forward, making him turn around so she could help him take it off.

"Older apartments have more windows, so air flows a lot easier. Older places like yours weren't built with air con," she explained, as if that was a good enough reason.

"Your apartment has air con," he pointed out. She shrugged. He moved to take off his sweat-laden mask, while Sakura stepped closer and reached behind him to untie his hitai-ate.

"Yeah, but it broke down. The stupid cat lady upstairs blew the breaker because she had the temperature in her apartment at, like, 16 or something. I live on one of the higher floors, so I'd probably die of a heat stroke if I stayed there."

"What about the woman upstairs?"

"Eh, she's got something like eight children. She can go live with one of them until they fix it. Or she can swelter and die, whichever is easier," she laughed. He began tugging at his shirt, and she helped him lift if over his head, and did her best not to make a remark at how sweaty it was.

She leant against him once he was shirtless, and he could feel her skin almost melting against his.

"Sakura, why are you just in your underwear?" She giggled, and planted a kiss on his cheek. She started skimming her hands slowly down his body, and didn't seem to mind he was coated in a layer of sweat.

"Because it's so hot out, Kakashi, or hadn't you noticed? It was so uncomfortable, and if I don't have to wear anything, I'm not going to. Why, do you have some objection?"

Kakashi planted his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him, damned if it was over thirty degrees outside. Sakura's arms went back up again, loosely hanging over his shoulders.

"No, I don't. But you're impeding the plans I'd made this evening. I was going to take a cold shower-"

"I don't see how-"

"And then go to sleep naked."

Sakura paused, looking up at him. He could almost see her eyes darken with desire. Her arms locked around his neck, and she pulled herself even closer. Kakashi's arms almost instinctively traveled up under her shirt, feeling the soft curve of her back. He noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I don't see how my being here is going to stop you. Besides, I was going to take a shower anyways. We might as well double up," she offered. He pressed his face into her neck, kissing and biting at the skin.

"It would save energy," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"And after-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, as Kakashi had moved to kiss her, and she couldn't help but groan. With deliberate steps, Kakashi and Sakura walked towards his washroom, where, in less time than it takes Naruto to down a bowl of ramen, they shed their remaining articles of clothing, and were standing underneath the cold shower of water.

"I'd like to think this is one of my better ideas," she said. Sakura was standing with her back against him. Kakashi's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her as close as possible, and Sakura let out a squeak of surprise. The contrast of temperature was remarkable – the coldness of the water on his back versus the heat Sakura's body was giving him.

"Because you're the first person to think of taking a cold shower, Sakura," he said. He felt her laugh before he heard it. She turned around, pressing herself against his front. Kakashi was hard pressed not to look at her breasts.

"No, but I got you here, didn't I?"

"I've had a long day. All I wanted to do was go to bed," he said. His voice started to strain.

"Who said you weren't going to sleep tonight?" she teased.

"I was on a mission. I'm quite tired."

"Then I guess you deserve some sort of reward, don't you?" she said, smirking.

Kakashi made a guttural growl, and flipped their positions so that Sakura had her back against the wall. They were flush against each other, but Kakashi wanted more. With one hand against the wall, and the other one firmly around her hips, he put one leg in between hers, forcing her upwards and closer, causing her to moan. Her arms were around his neck again, with her hands tangling themselves in his wet hair. She gasped, loudly, while her legs went around his hips.

His mouth attached itself to her collarbone, leaving a trail of bite marks from one shoulder to the other. Sakura's heart soared with the contact.

"If this is what you get for being a messenger, I can't imagine what you'll want when you come back from an S-Class mission," she breathed.

* * *

**End.**

I'm not going to promise that I'm going to pop out another one of these any time soon, because frankly, every time I do say that, nothing ever comes of it. So, I'm just going to say that I'm going to make more of an effort to brainstorm ideas from my list (21 more to go!), and write them when the time is right. Right now, I've got a very, very massive Labyrinth story brewing that I've spent at least several months planning. I didn't have a computer from about... mid-January to April or so, I think, so a lot of my planning was done on paper. So far, there's two full stories planned out, with a third one in it's infant stages. With the first two arcs alone, I've got about 30+ chapters to write, and I'm aiming to make each chapter at least 10 pages on Word, minimum.

I finished school in January, and spent up until the middle of May jobless, since places don't hire as much in the middle of the winter as they do when Universities let out. I spent a lot of my time planning out everything while watching CSI, and I'm trying as hard as possible to make this story as real-fiction as possible: planning out characters to the finest detail, finding image references to perfectly describe scenes and characters, researching different cultures and their clothing styles, myths, and royal protocol, and, in general, going the distance to make this great.

I'm not saying that this series is going to be put into the back-burner; I don't want this to sit on and collect dust, incomplete, and unfulfilling. I promised you thirty one-shots, and thirty one-shots is what you're going to get!

Lots of love, and sincerest apologies,

**xLHx**


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